Glasses: No
Doing an Accent?: No
Accent for Whole Film?: No
Hair: No
Does He Point At Someone?: Yes
Best Line: "And you're the director....."
The Magus........now this one carries a rep, hated by all who made it, all who saw it, and just about everyone. "If I lived my life again, I'd do everything exactly the same, with the exception of watching The Magus." once said Woody Allen some years back. Although, I expect if you asked him today, he'd probably revise that statement.
Somewhat of a companion piece to Deadfall - another med vibin', Caine regretting, 68 film of low repute, I can confirm that on the second watch of this, its not good. Its not good at all. I've read The Magus, and I quite liked it, but this film makes me look over towards my copy of the highly regarded Fowles novel and think "is it actually that good?", such is the effect this film has on the plot contained within.
Plot - well, its batshit, isn't it? Utterly bizarre, random, madness of a page turner......CAINEOLOGY NECTAR, frankly.
Sort summary, thus, Caine plays a bored listless chap, who throws it in with his previous life and runs away to Greece to become an English teacher on a small island, where he encounters a strange older gentleman who really enjoys playing mind game and slowly draws Caine into his web, whereupon the blurring of reality, unreality, life and past life becomes mixed and enmeshed in a series of ever increasingly odd events. Is this real, or is it fake? Did this happen, or is it staged? Are they who they say they are, or are they acting?
Now, in the novel, you just don't know, and as the pages turn, so does the twists. In the film, this manifests itself rather poorly, I'm afraid, where if you were to take things at face value, you'd end up laughing, were it not so achingly plodding and dull throughout.
Caine..........well, he's not having a good time in this and seems to wear the same face throughout. I suppose he's playing jaded, but its not good. Which is a handy one line summary of the film......
The ending cuts off in a different place too? Maybe because I've read the revised version, which did have a cracker of an ending, but the film just..............stops.
Shame, as it could have been so good. The Italians would have made a much better job of this.
SO.......
1. It dawned on me that this could be read as an Alfie 2 - think about it, at the end of Alfie, we're left with the lad himself, pondering his life and loves, along with what to do next. Roll on to The Magus and we're back with Alfie, who's lucked out and living with a French air hostess, but still disturbed by his recent experiences. He then decides to leave it all and head to Greece for an escape, where, being Alfie, he can't help following the birds and being who he is. All it needs is some fourth wall addresses and we'd be there!
2. Some schoolboys playing football in the playground, as schoolboys will do.
Ball bounces over to Caine.
What does he do?
Sky it over the wall.
Arsehole.
3. As all wargamers know, NEVER EVER THINK "anything but a one".
(you fail your break test, Mr Urfe)
Caine, clearly not a wargamer.
4. TRIGGER!!
5. Finally, some Caine action we can get behind. During an Ipcress-esque "dream" sequence, the chap runs up and starts trashing about a bull whip, destroying some voyeur footage of his current love.
Wonderful, but alas too little, too late. That expression is the same one he wears for the WHOLE FILM.
Best Dressed - Black rollneck, sharp jacket, putting the moves on Anna Karina. Nice.
Whats it all about?
